Steam & Excursion > The Big Boy...

Dare I even bring this up, but any rumors of the Big Boy heading west out of Cheyenne in 2021?  ( p.s., Tell me...I won't tell a soul.)

Doubt it.

Posted from iPhone

BKLJ611 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Doubt it.

Agree. Besides, with only three men remaining at the Cheyenne Steam Shop, what would they do for a knowledgeable crew, and where would they go anyway.

Never say never. I know a trip is being considered.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Why spend all that money and effort to restore if no plans to run. 

Train29 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why spend all that money and effort to restore if
> no plans to run. 

COVID-19

If any trip is going to be run, I would assume it would be the PNW trip that was cancelled last year.

Posted from Android

A goodwill trip towing Hyundai Marine stacks before the BNSF gets the contract back!

Out 

Bob3985 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Never say never. I know a trip is being
> considered.

Philadelphia, per chance?              

/Mitch







; )

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A goodwill trip towing Hyundai Marine stacks
> before the BNSF gets the contract back!
>
> Out 

I'd love to see that, but does the 4014 actually steam well enough to do that?  All we know, difinitively, is it produces enough steam to move itself, blow the whistle, and dump a lot of hot water out of the mud separator.

The key question is how are the UP's financial results now?

Whatever they are they will be prefeced by "And the recent cold weather has affected our daily metrics....."

Out 

If the fire intensity is great enough, you can bet he'll do fine.
But with all the 'dismal support'  he gets from being shoved around,
he'll never get the draft he needs to burn hot enough.
The current managers are not comfortable enough to put him out there on his own....

It takes 4014 up to half an hour of hard beating, to get the bricks and firebox THAT hot,
and to get up to superheated steam range,  so "impatience" grabs the MU throttle,
out of uncertainty...and fear of stalling...

Listen to 3985 hauling stack-trains, and you hear can what superheat sounds like!

With 4014, being shoved, not much is gonna change ....

​W.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/18/21 09:51 by wcamp1472.

MJV1988 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If any trip is going to be run, I would assume it
> would be the PNW trip that was cancelled last
> year.

That's my opinion, too.

But I didn't wait for 4014 to come to my "backyard" in California. I seized the moment in 2019 and travelled to Wyoming, Utah, then Arizona to catch it. Had to do that to work around previous committments and work schedules.

For those who haven't, let's hope you didn't miss your chance forever. Even during the pandemic, flying across country is possible and affordable, so that's no excuse, if the next trip ever happens, no matter which way 4014 goes.

"Affordable" is a relative term, thank you very much...

MC6853 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Affordable" is a relative term, thank you very
> much...

Still no excuses, if you've analyzed air fares relative to the cost of living. I brought this up now, so people can budget for the future, if they really cared about the UP Steam Program.

There are young fools making $500 a month car payments, and can't afford anything else. Can't feel sorry for people who don't know how to live within their means, especially if they whine about the 4014 here on TO. 

Well since you're a self-proclaimed expert on everyone else's finances you would know...

What's to see, or spend money-on, to 'go see',
in watching a perfectly capable, restored loco being shoved along by a diesel?

If they were serious about dynamic braking for increased draft, you'd 
want 2 or 3 more functional 'braking' units to get proper drafting...

if you want 4,000 hp worth of draft, you're NEVER gonna get it from a  2,000hp
resistance 'brake'... or, from 8-10 coaches,  free-rolling on RB journals

Or, you could run BB , by himself ... but, that takes firing skill & patience and a
decent trailng-load of cars to heat up all that brickwork in the firepan.

Or not.

W.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/21 12:41 by wcamp1472.

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A goodwill trip towing Hyundai Marine stacks
> before the BNSF gets the contract back!
>
> Out

Yeah but with a desiel with it, not like what 3985 did back in the early 90s with that monster APL Stack Train! 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/21 19:13 by ProAmtrak.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's to see, or spend money-on, to 'go see',
> in watching a perfectly capable, restored loco
> being shoved along by a diesel?
>
> If they were serious about dynamic braking for
> increased draft, you'd 
> want 2 or 3 more functional 'braking' units to get
> proper drafting...
>
> if you want 4,000 hp worth of draft, you're NEVER
> gonna get it from a  2,000hp
> resistance 'brake'... or, from 8-10 coaches,
>  free-rolling on RB journals
>
> Or, you could run BB , by himself ... but, that
> takes firing skill & patience and a
> decent trailng-load of cars to heat up all that
> brickwork in the firepan.
>
> Or not.
>
> W.

You hit the nail on the head, that's why I could've cared less on seeing the 4014 in Arizona 2 years ago besides needing new tires, even if I didn't need them I'm not wasting my time seeing something that can't run mostly on its own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/21 22:16 by ProAmtrak.